Massachusetts Fishing Report – July 13, 2017

Could we be experiencing a redux of last year? All the signs are pointing in that direction as pogy school after pogy school pushes into the Bay State (and beyond!). One tackle shop owner told me he’s almost willing to beg, borrow or steal to keep in stock snag trebles, which are flying off the shelves. But also like last year, most pogies are not under duress from bass – yet!

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Things are happening very quickly! No sooner did I speak to Pete from Belsan Bait in Scituate on Wednesday, after he replied in the negative when I asked if there were many pogies around, then he sent me an about-face text touting an invasion by the “acres” in the North River. It’s inevitable that sooner or later big bass will find that bait; anglers just have to stick with either chunk or live pogies where they find them.

While there have only been fleeting reports on bluefish on the South Shore, they have finally slashed their way into Boston so don’t be surprised the next time you’re out you find them shadowing pogy schools on the South Shore. Anglers keeping on the search are finding a tides worth of mackerel for their live wells. An easy alternative is harbor pollock, which swarm the Breakers, Minot Light and the Tar Pouch.

Trolling macks tight to rocky structure is one way to entice a bass, so is live-lining one under a balloon. Ideally you want to live-line in the teeth of a moving tide with the current carrying the bait through/over irregular bottom where bass lie in ambush.

July is when we start seeing a few fluke turning up, albeit usually as bycatch. The North River is one of the better north-of-the-Cape spots for these toothy flounder so I wasn’t surprised to hear of a few up to 21” taken by Damon’s Point.

According to Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters, warming water temperatures aren’t the only thing chasing the mackerel out to deep water – porbeagle sharks are following them as they depart Stellwagen Bank for deeper/cooler water. And best of all for sporting shark chasers there are hardly any blue sharks stealing the baits. Interestingly, the skipper said that there’s a lot of big bass feeding on sand eels along the southeast section of Stellwagen. Could this be the source of a looming big bass invasion on our pogy schools? The Race remains red hot with those casting sand eel imitators or jigging slim-profiled jigs doing really well.

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report

The big bass pendulum swung this past week from the North Shore toward Boston. Captain Paul Diggins of Reel Pursuit Charters has been putting patrons into major league stripers out by the BG Buoy. And apparently the word is out all the way into Quebec! Pablo Menghini of Montreal caught and released a 51” monster while aboard Reel Pursuit on a mackerel by the BG Buoy! Paul’s been finding the majority of his mackerel just off Hull.

While still running flounder trips, Captain Colby’s Little Sister, within the last week, has been transitioning toward eel fishing for stripers after dark. If you want to really grasp how to drift/cast this big bass bait for bass and identify likely honey holes than hire the skipper to show you how! But you had better do it quickly, the captain’s pulling the Little Sister from Quincy on July 20th and then splashing down in Westport in August with a new, larger, improved Little Sister. Aside from the plethora of inshore species he intends on targeting, he also plans on making Rhode Island Sound runs. Last year while apart of some of those trips we managed to catch mahi mahi and cod in the same place!

Lisa from Fore River in Quincy weighed in a 14-pound blue recently! And that’s not the only toothy she’s been hearing of, so it might be smart to start packing some steel. Recent pogy reports have them at Wollaston Beach, Marina Bay, the Tobin Bridge, Chelsea Creek, Crystal Cove and Revere Beach. Anglers with amnesia are complaining that there are no bass on the bait, forgetting that last year was similar until it began to sizzle by August!

Darlene of Bob’s Bait Shack in Winthrop said that the Winthrop shoreline remains a winner with 40-pound stripers still being caught. And best of all the bass are equal opportunity pleasers as boaters, surfcasters and kayakers are all catching. Bait seems to be working best.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Tomo from Tomos Tackle in Salem told me of tautog and black sea bass off Marblehead’s Castle Rock. There are plenty of pogies around, but you will not find bass with every school. You’ll fare better if you find pogies in confined areas, where bass can cut off escape routes as opposed to open water. Examples of this are Lynn and Salem Harbor where anglers are catching solid stripers with the bait. The inverse is deep water environs such as Halibut Point where bass have a tough time corralling the evasive menhaden. However, not all is a nirvana for pogies in deep water since there are regular reports coming in of giant tuna busting up those bait balls of bunker! It is definitely tuna time! Customers of Tomo’s who live for squid are having a tough go of it, with only a handful per outing from Marblehead, Beverly and Salem.

Skip from Three Lantern Marine is having the hardest time keeping snagging trebles in stock. Anyone who has taken a cruise from Thacher Island through Ipswich Bay and out to the Merrimack River can attest why – man, there’s a lot of pogies out there! Tuna, whales and even an orca (!) have been spotted pushing the ubiquitous pogies! You should also have no problem finding mackerel by the Groaner, Thachers and the Salvages. Float them under a balloon close to structure for bass up to 20 pounds. Plum Island Sound through the Parker River has been good on moving tides as has Sandy Point and Emerson Rocks. Kay from Surfland said that the last stage of the outgoing tide at the mouth of the Merrimack River continues to be consistent with fish moving along the ocean front on the flood.

What many are talking about are the big bass cruising around Joppa Flats during low light periods. The belief is that those fish were upstream gorging on river herring and now are fussy to say the least! Regardless sooner or later they have to eat! Captain Chris Valaskatgis from Manolin Charters has been living on three charters a day, fast food, a steady stream of caffeine and plenty of mackerel and stripers! Just Wednesday morning he saw the biggest school of pogies in his life, a ribbon of fish which extended for about a mile! Snagging and then live-lining resulted in a vicious take down but a miss! Chris is still going to great lengths to top off the livewell with mackerel and says that he is going through about a hundred per trip, the fishing is that good. He’s finding bigger bass invading the Merrimack on the incoming while smaller fish are more common on the outgoing.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

With the volume of pogies we currently have in our presence, you should have no problem procuring enough for an outing. But not every school will have bass! Load up the livewell and seek schools of pogies in as shallow, sheltered an environment as you can and your odds increase a lot that you’ll catch large. The recent invasion of pogies in the North River bares watch. If you don’t find bass on the pogies in Wollaston, then take a few over to the Quarantine Rocks, Stone Ledge or Moonhead Island. Crystal Cove has pogies and should have bass. If that’s not the case, give the airport side of Snake Island a shot. If the pogies off Revere Beach seem way too comfortable, try Kelley’s Rocks, the Beachmont breakwater or Seal Harbor. The mooring fields in Lynn and Salem Harbors have pogies and bass. Farther north the tuna bite is getting terrific! Jig up mackerel or snag some pogies and keep your eyes peeled for giants which have been as close as 2 miles off the shoreline!